love in a bottle with a twist-off cap
by Mia-Zeklos
Summary: "Alec's hold on the steering wheel tightened. It had been a week. A week of on and off contact with the rest of the Shadowhunters involved in breaking Valentine's prisoners out; a week of trying to get back to New York and constantly changing their direction because the man had got a Warlock to watch out for the magical passages in and out of the city."


**Notes: This fic was based on a prompt with the words 'fingers and bruises' and it just... grew from there into this. It has a soundtrack now! It's obviously not obligatory, but it does feel like it sets the mood, so here are the songs used, in that order: _Real Turned On_ by Uriah Heep, _Star Treatment_ by Arctic Monkeys, and _Red Eyes_ by The War of Drugs.**

 **References: _101 Driving Songs_ is an actual album, although the only song in this fic that actually exists on it, as far as I'm aware, is _Ever Fallen In Love;_ the rest is all me taking artistic liberties. The title of the fic is taken from the song playing during the motel scene. Descriptions of the road are kept to a minimum because I don't understand how highways in the USA work and at this point I'm too afraid to ask.**

 **Hope you enjoy it and feedback is always welcome!**

* * *

 _Whoa, baby, do you know what I've got in mind?  
Can you guess what it is or do you want it underlined?_

Even as the hours stretched on, Alec studiously ignored his companion's singing along to the questionable selection of _101 Driving Songs_ – some mundie abomination of a CD that they'd got at a gas station a couple of days ago. It was a slight improvement from the rendition of _Ever Fallen In Love_ that had preceded it, however, so he decided that it was best to let it go.

But the darker it got outside, the more acutely aware he became of the Seelie's presence.

And really, how the hell was he supposed to ignore him? It wasn't even just about the singing. The man's bi-coloured eyes turned golden on occasion either because of what he was or because of Valentine Morgenstern's interference, and although Alec was trying not to find patterns where there weren't any, it was impossible not to notice that it usually meant either that he was using his magic, or, Alec presumed—

"I'm hungry."

Alec's hold on the steering wheel tightened. It had been a week. A week of on and off contact with the rest of the Shadowhunters involved in breaking Valentine's prisoners out; a week of trying to get back to New York and constantly changing their direction because the man had got a Warlock to watch out for the magical passages in and out of the city. Alec in particular had to be _very_ careful; the incubus – _Jace_ – seemed to be one of the ones he found most valuable. In a way, he had known that this was coming. He'd read the books and had heard the stories. Everyone knew what succubi and incubi fed on and Jace had mysteriously disappeared from their room at the motel for a few hours on their first night in and had come back looking significantly more refreshed. It only made sense.

"I'm sure we can find you something."

In his peripheral vision, there was a gesture to something outside of the car. "This says that there's a KFC ten miles away."

" _KFC_?" He had to be kidding, even if his tone suggested nothing of the sort.

"That means food, right?"

When Alec finally turned to face him, Jace's smile was almost as radiant as his eyes. He wasn't kidding, but he was definitely amused.

"Yeah," Alec nodded, desperately trying to hide his relief. "That means food."

Jace's gaze settled on the road stretching out in front of them once again. "Good."

They didn't speak again until Alec got off of the highway minutes later, feeling something akin to nervousness well up in him again. Jace's behaviour so far had been exemplary with the sole exception of the several times he'd almost slipped up and said something he wasn't supposed to in front of mundanes, but he couldn't really be expected to do better; not with the company he'd spent his life in. He'd also listened when Alec had reproached him about it and had been awfully quiet ever since, especially when they weren't alone. Alec didn't mind – he happened to be a big fan of having some peace and quiet for a change – but he was starting to feel a little twitchy whenever his charge looked like he might want to confide in him before eventually giving up on the idea.

"You _can_ talk in front of other people if you want," he said at last, unable to bear the tension any longer. They'd just managed to find a somewhat private booth and he unwrapped his own food, more hungry than he'd noticed himself get, while Jace poked suspiciously at his own sandwich. "We just have to keep quiet. And careful. Mundanes don't pick up on everything, but they're not _that_ stupid."

"Noted," Jace said and took a tentative bite before giving a quick nod to Alec's unspoken question. He hadn't come off as a particularly picky eater until now, but fast food and magic creatures rarely mixed well. "I'm just never sure. My father rarely let me out of his circles in the Shadow World without supervision."

"Your— father?" Alec frantically went through all the information he had on Jace in his mind. There had been no parents listed, which didn't leave him with many options.

"Valentine," Jace clarified. "My mother was very sick when she was pregnant and he gave her angel blood to make her – and me – stronger, but it wasn't enough. None of his experiments on Seelies ever really worked, so he thought, why not create one on his own? And he started feeding her demon blood as well and," Jace shrugged, clearly trying for nonchalant and failing spectacularly, "here I am. Pity my powers turned out so useless, he says, because he was hoping for at least some compulsion or elemental magic. Instead I've just got the energy thing and, well, my face, but he can't—"

"Wait," Alec interrupted, the world suddenly spinning with all the new trouble – and possibilities – that came with this sudden development. "You were born a Nephilim?"

"I was born an incubus." The correction was just strained enough for Alec to notice, which had doubtlessly been the point. "But I do have Nephilim blood if that's what you're asking."

 _Human blood._ It was the smallest fraction possible when compared to the rest of his heritage, but it was enough to make him drastically different from the Fair Folk that the Clave had wanted to pass Jace's case on to. It didn't exactly make him the Clave's problem either – all the better for him, really, what with the widespread belief that energy-draining Seelies were borderline demons anyway, and—

"Is that complicating things?" Jace asked, his grip around the fry he'd apparently meant to eat tightening at the thought. It was such a small thing, but enough to rile Alec up all over again – Valentine had really made sure to not give him a break, not even when he was already so far away. "If your Clave is going to be weird about it—"

"The Council's weird about _everything_ , but that's nothing for you to worry about." He'd sounded far more confident than he actually felt. Mother would be proud. "I took responsibility for this case because of Clary Fairchild, Valentine's— your— your sister, I suppose. I'll claim that responsibility when the time comes."

He didn't say anything about Jocelyn or the demonic possession or the guilt that had finally forced him to take this personally, but he didn't need to. This had to be the Jonathan that she'd talked about even if none of her descriptions had clicked true for Jace so far and she'd _hated_ him and none of it seemed to matter anymore, pushed to the back of his mind at the sight of Jace's eyes widening to almost unlikely proportions.

"I have a _sister_? How old is she?"

"Eighteen." It was embarrassing that it had only now occurred to him to ask but, "How old as _you_?"

"Older than that, definitely." Some of the joy drained out of Jace's expression and it only served as yet another hit to go with the sinking feeling at the realisation that Jace didn't have a clear idea of when he was born. "Around twenty-three? It should be somewhere in my father's journals; the ones you confiscated. Either way, it doesn't matter – my mother died when I was born."

"That doesn't make any sense," Alec said before he could censor himself. A few days in and he still wasn't sure what he was supposed to keep from Jace – he always maintained a brave face no matter how clearly something had hurt him and he was slowly starting to get a hang of what was acceptable. "I've met Valentine's wife and she had a son named Jonathan, but she had Clary _years_ later. That can't be it."

"Oh." That might have been one for the list of banned topics, then, Alec thought with a wince. Despite Valentine's treatment, he was still let down at the prospect of the man lying to him and the disappointment was apparently strong enough to drown out the relief he should have felt at the possibility of not being related to him by blood at least. "Maybe there was another woman—"

"There couldn't have been." After the revelations of his own parents's role in the Circle, Alec had made sure to receive all the information that he could gather about the organisation, seeing as it had slowly started coming back to life. "He was _obsessed_ with Jocelyn; if there was one thing in the world he was loyal to, it was her. Listen," he continued, unable to look at Jace's crestfallen eyes any longer, "once we get to the Institute, I'll order a DNA test for you, okay? We'll figure this out."

Much to Alec's alarm, Jace abruptly got up from his seat on the other side of the table and moved next to him, wrapping his arms around Alec in a hug that was as determined as it was hesitant.

"Thank you," he said once Alec returned the embrace and somehow managed to shift even more comfortably into his arms a moment later. "It means a lot."

"It's nothing," Alec assured him, but the words felt all the more hollow now that they both knew that they weren't the truth. It could no longer be nothing and some small part of him still lamented that, but Alec welcomed the change all the same.

* * *

Three weeks into their attempts to get into New York City unnoticed, the Shadowhunter had both loosened up some and had become even more restless than before.

On one hand, they _were_ making progress here and they'd got to know each other better, which made them a significantly better team than before. On the other, Valentine's men seemed to be everywhere and Alec would have much preferred facing them on his own turf. The turf in question turned out to be the New York Institute itself, which he was supposed to inherit within the last few months of the year. If something went wrong on such a crucial mission, he would never live it down even if he wasn't punished for it. It was just the kind of person he was, which never failed to be both enchanting and a little mystifying.

It was also really _intense_ , Jace couldn't help but notice when he was hauled to his feet now and especially when Alec proceeded to drag him by his bicep towards the door of the cafe they'd stopped at while hissing orders into his phone.

"He's found us," he said as soon as he'd ended the call and opened Jace's door for him. "We need to leave."

" _How_?" They had been so careful. They never stayed more than one night at the same place and moved as inconspicuously as possible on their way to the city; he'd been so sure that there was no one left who hadn't lost track of them yet.

"Must be Warlock tracking. He's probably salvaged some of your old stuff and is now using that."Alec huffed as he unlocked their car. "And we were supposed to get to New York tonight. We could have been inside the wards within a few hours."

It was a silly, childish impulse, but Jace couldn't thwart the twinge of disappointment at that. He was looking forward to getting to the promised shelter of course, but it was more than that. While he'd seen his fair share of towns over the years – his father had only ever offered him that – he'd never seen a city before and some part of him had been curious about that too, only for it to turn into another thing for Valentine to taint. Still, "There's always tomorrow."

"Definitely tomorrow." The determination that the statement had been made with was all the reassurance he needed. He'd just been meaning to say so when Alec settled into the driver's seat, slammed the door closed and carefully manoeuvred his way out of the car park before plunging directly into the field behind the building without a second thought.

"Angel!" There had been more admiration than fear in the exclamation, Jace had to admit, but now wasn't the time to reflect on _that_. "Alec, where the _hell_ are we going?"

"There's a motel nearby." The Shadowhunter had ignited yet another one of his runes and his eyes shone in bright blue, shifting this way and that like a map had opened right in front of him. For all Jace knew, that could be precisely the case. "Even with a night vision rune, someone without any method of transportation can't chase us near the highway for long and they couldn't have brought a car through the portal. No one would expect us to end up here."

It was a barely stitched together plan, but it was the best they had and Jace willed himself to relax. Alec would keep him safe; he'd said that enough times already. Nephilim – the Clave's soldiers, not the ones like his father – were ready to die for the cause even when repeatedly assured that they didn't _need_ to. Either that or Alec was a rather memorable outlier, because at this point Jace was sure that he'd protect him with his life. Jace could hold his own against Circle members, of course, Valentine had been the one to train him after all, but he wasn't sure how well he'd do if he was actually faced with the man who'd taught him everything he knew.

The thought was terrifying, there was no denying that. It hadn't _felt_ all that bad when it had been all he'd known, but the prospect of going back now was worse than anything else he could imagine. The future was uncertain and it didn't hold much, but it had to be more than this. It _had_ to. He wasn't sure when he'd gathered the courage to try and bargain with life, but he wasn't ready to let go of it just yet.

In the darkness between them, Alec's free hand pawed at the seat blindly a few times before finding Jace's and squeezing it gently; the light pressure just grounding enough for Jace to feel his pulse starting to slow down again along with his breathing. It had become a habit of sorts for them and he was more grateful for it than he had the words to express.

"Don't worry." Alec's eyes didn't move from the approaching lights in front of them, but the world had somehow narrowed down to his voice. "We'll find a way."

 **~.~**

 _I just wanted to be one of The Strokes  
_ _Now look at the mess you made me make_

The first notes of yet another song on that blessed never-ending CD were the first thing to get to Jace's mind once he exited the tiny bathroom of the equally tiny room that Alec had got them for the night.

"We've got a stereo!"

Alec hummed in acknowledgment, but made no move to free space for Jace on the double bed they'd been provided with. "You know, I think I actually like this one."

Jace crawled up over the covers, ignoring the pillows in favour of Alec's outstretched arm and settling down more comfortably when he didn't protest the presence of his mostly-dry hair on top of his shirt.

"I wouldn't have made it without you," he blurted out before he'd managed to stop himself. The thought kept plaguing him and he'd needed it out in the open with a desperation likely born from the lack of sleep. Luckily, Alec remained unbothered.

"We haven't made it yet," he noted, "but even when we do— You don't need to fend for yourself anymore. No one's making you do it all on your own now."

"I'll need to once we get to New York."

Alec was the one to move this time, shifting to his side until they were face to face. "No, you won't." One of his hands reached out, fingers tracing over Jace's cheek like a lover's caress. Jace had been touched plenty of times, both because and despite of his powers and, just like all their conversations so far, this was somehow neither. Alec was straightforward like that. "I won't let that happen. As long as you're under my protection, I won't—"

Jace kissed him.

He honestly hadn't meant to. He'd _wanted_ to for a while now – it hadn't taken him long after he'd got over the initial shock of the sudden changes to notice that he was ridiculously attractive – but he'd stuffed the thought somewhere in the back of his mind for some indefinite time in the future that was likely to never come. But he'd wanted to show his gratitude and he hadn't known what else to _do_ and by the time he'd started questioning that decision he'd made, it turned out that he didn't need to: Alec's grip grew firmer, his other hand joining in to cup his face. His kiss was almost biting, firmer than Jace had imagined it would be in the several moments of weakness that he'd had over the last fortnight or so. It was the best kind of surprise and he accepted it easily, eagerly even, his thighs wrapping around Alec's waist until he could get the leverage to push him on his back.

Alec broke the kiss and Jace didn't have the time to wonder if he'd overstepped before he noticed the look aimed in his direction; concern and conflict and something he couldn't quite figure out mixed all in one.

"Jace," he said, hands sliding up his legs and kneading their way up his thighs. "This is my _job_. It's nothing that outstanding or extraordinary."

" _You_ 're extraordinary," Jace said, shaking his head before Alec had even finished his sentence. "It's fine if you don't want to because of my magic – or for, you know, whatever other reason you have, but—"

"It's not that," Alec interrupted, pulling himself up into a sitting position and somehow managing to not dislodge Jace in the process. "I was just thinking—"

"What?"

"It's nothing," he decided, his hold around Jace tightening compulsively. "It's nothing."

It was all the encouragement Jace needed to kiss him again, far more confident and resolute than he'd been the first time. Alec wanted this, wanted _him_ , and the revelation was enough for him to let his touch get as hungry as he felt; to let his hands push Alec's t-shirt upwards and over his head before he could think better of it. He allowed it and Jace was rewarded with the sight of his rune-scarred skin a moment later, even if he didn't get the chance to explore more – Alec had already decided to return the favour.

It was always exhilarating to be with someone because he wanted to instead of out of necessity and now was no exception and Jace smiled into Alec's kiss as he pressed himself even closer, elated at the hectic sort of freedom this allowed. Nothing outside of this room had to exist, not right now, and it was the most amazing thing he'd ever felt.

Jace's own shirt was a little more troublesome, but Alec undid the buttons with surprising nimbleness and pushed it off his shoulders, mouthing at Jace's neck and down his collarbones, peppering every bit of skin that he could reach with quick, urgent kisses. Jace's eyes fluttered shut and his fingers snuck into Alec's dark hair, tugging lightly on it until the Shadowhunter groaned against his skin and looked up again.

He was a vision like this, with nothing but the sparse illumination from outside to light up his features. His hazel eyes were even more expressive than before with their proximity and Jace slid a finger down his jawline, idly wondering if his own expression was as awed as Alec's was just now. It had to be, with all the sensations boiling up inside him.

They seemed to have come to an agreement without even saying anything and Jace quickly got off the bed to fish around for the supplies he knew he kept somewhere in the luggage he'd slowly acquired since his escape. He tossed the box of condoms back in Alec's general direction, trusting his Nephilim reflexes to handle it, but kept the lube for himself before getting back in his original position by Alec's side. Feeling suddenly impatient, he unzipped Alec's jeans and pushed them down his legs along with his underwear before adding them to the pile their shirts had already made. Alec was already half-hard, which was more restraint than Jace himself could show for and he could have spent the rest of the night trying to make sense of all the differences between them if he couldn't already feel the familiar hunger for more raising its head.

Jace hadn't bothered with jeans – or underwear – after his own shower and it was all too easy to discard his sweatpants and straddle Alec's thighs again, this time purposefully trusting down against him, the dry friction doing nothing but make his desire flare up even more quickly until he couldn't bite back the whimper it wrung out of him. He was hard already, the heat in the pit of his stomach mingling with the warmth of Alec's skin until all he wanted was _more_ , _now_ , the teasing touches they'd exchanged so far suddenly feeling more like an interlude.

"Here." He pressed the small bottle of lube into the palm of Alec's hand at the sound of his responding groan. Much to his delight, Alec immediately let go of his shoulder and spread some of the gel on his hand, warming it up between his fingers before pressing one into Jace, careful with an underlying current of impatience.

He took his sweet time with it until Jace ended up even more sprawled out in his lap, with his forehead against Alec's chest while he pressed distracted kisses there, eager to show his appreciation even as he ached in a way that he would never be able to explain to a Nephilim. This, _this_ was what it was supposed to feel like and it happened so _rarely_. It had been years since he'd felt like this and he'd never expected it to come from a Shadowhunter of all species but here it was, here they were and Jace was really starting to think that the Clave deciding to send their best solders right into Valentine's business might have just been the best thing that would ever happen to him.

But he could feel Alec's erection twitching against his stomach whenever he shifted on top of him and Jace was really past the point of caring about how he sounded, so, "That's enough," he almost whispered, bracing himself against the frame of the bed until he could look him in the eye again. "Alec, I—"

"Okay," Alec said and the single word and his expression – eyebrows drawn together, lips parted with the same breathlessness that Jace himself felt lightheaded by – was enough to make Jace shiver. "How do you want—"

"Like this," Jace interrupted and rose to his knees again, watching as Alec tore off the wrapping of the condom and slid it over his shaft, eyes sliding shut and head thrown back as he stroked himself a few times with what was left of the lube. It was an enticing sight and Jace wanted nothing more than to join in, so he did; kissing Alec again and positioning himself over him was enough of a hint. "Does that work for you?"

"More than." Alec's hushed laughter died down as soon as Jace nodded and carefully guided his body down until he could sink onto Alec's length, excruciatingly slow in an effort to let them both savour this.

He wasn't disappointed. Alec's hands went back to Jace's thighs in a clear attempt to control the pace once he was all the way in and Jace let him, already trembling with the intensity of it. He felt so _full_ like this, his body both coiled tight like a spring and completely relaxed as Alec started thrusting up while Jace lowered himself in counterpoint until they'd set up something resembling a rhythm. Some distant part of him was glad that Alec looked equally blissed out like this, chasing their combined pleasure as he changed his angle slightly, effectively hitting the spot that made Jace lose himself a little more every time.

"Jace." It sounded like a benediction coming from Alec's lips and he couldn't _not_ kiss him then. He'd been idly wondering for a while what the Shadowhunter would look like once all inhibitions were off and the reality of it was better than anything he could have imagined and if his thighs burned much more in this position as he picked up the pace, then it was definitely worth it for the pleasure of being with Alec like this. He could see – and feel – him so much better when he was sprawled over his chest; could see every speckle of light in his eyes as he glanced up at Jace with mirroring fascination, the way his lips parted on instinct when Jace leant in close enough.

The kiss when it finally came was the last spark he'd needed to feel the first tendrils of his magic awakening somewhere deep inside him and _god_ , he'd forgotten that this would happen, how could he have forgotten, how could they have _both_ forgotten? He'd meant to ask Alec if he wanted to stop, but never got the chance to: his hand had wrapped around Jace's cock and his strokes were quick and almost rough and _perfect_ , and—

"It's okay, Jace," Alec said, voice even more wrecked than before, his free hand sliding up to Jace's waist to bring him closer, these long fingers digging even harder into his skin. His eyes must have started turning golden, Jace thought; that was always his giveaway with anything apart from mundanes. His thighs clenched around Alec's hips as he tried to fold even closer into his embrace, desperate to fuel the flames he'd tried to put down until now. "It doesn't matter."

But it _did_ , even if now wasn't the best time to correct that misconception. For one perfect, suspended moment, Jace's magic spread out to every fibre of his being until he could catch the first glimpse of Alec's soul like it was a golden string, a driving force behind everything he did and it was _beautiful_ ; so beautiful that he could have cried. By the Angel, he hoped he hadn't cried.

Even if that hadn't been the case, he _could_ hear himself crying out Alec's name as if from a distance, clawing at his lover's shoulders to keep himself at least somewhat grounded as the tension kept building up inside him. It wasn't long before he came and that along with the magic would have been enough to overwhelm him, usually, the sensations too many to keep track of, but it was different now. When the blissful fog that had descended over his mind started to dissipate, he realised that Alec's hands were drawing soothing patterns over his skin, trailing his fingers up and down from his waist to his hips, tracing the places that would definitely bruise until tomorrow. Jace wanted to tell him that it was fine, that he didn't have to, be it did feel awfully nice and Alec didn't seem to mind. Jace had been too wrapped up in his own release to notice when he'd come as well, but now that he was coming back to himself, Alec's twitch of overstimulation as he carefully pulled away was obvious. Despite feeling almost boneless, Jace cooperated as much as he could and pressed himself to Alec's side, basking in the warmth it provided.

"So if this happens to a mundane," Alec ventured, startling him from his half-asleep state, "if _I_ was a mundane, how would this affect me?"

"This?" Jace echoed, cracking an eye open to look at him.

"Your magic," Alec clarified, making a nondescript gesture between them. "I've heard that sometimes you make deals or—"

"Oh my God." Jace tried to actually face him without moving out of Alec's firm embrace, wide awake all of a sudden. "Don't tell me you actually thought I was taking years off of your life." Alec wouldn't look at him. "Oh my _God_."

" _Not_ what I said," Alec protested, but Jace could hear the smile in his voice even while hiding his face into his chest again, trying to smother the disbelief rising up inside him. He'd observed Nephilim being reckless his entire life, but he hadn't expected anything like _this_. It made sense, he supposed; they majority of them died young anyway. The realisation was a startlingly unwelcome one. "I was wondering, that was all. My sister is a scientist and she'll ask you more awkward questions than you can think of anyone. Thought I could ask instead since we already," another vague gesture, "you know."

"Yeah." He _did_ know. He also sort of hoped for a repeat performance in the near future, even if now wasn't the time. It hadn't been the right time to begin with, but he couldn't bring himself to regret any part of it. "I don't know, it's usually—people just sleep in afterwards, I suppose?" The conversation was absurd enough as it were, but he still felt the need to ask, "Why am I getting to know your sister?"

"She could handle your DNA test," Alec said with a shrug. "If that's what you want."

"Yes," Jace nodded, more eager to know that he would have liked to admit. Leave it to Alec to keep his timetable of the next few days running in his mind at all times, he thought fondly, but couldn't even muster the enthusiasm to joke about it this time. "Yes, I think I'd like that."

Finally, they slept.

 **~.~**

 _Come and ride away  
It's easier to stick to the earth_

Alec was in a good mood.

It wasn't the first time it had happened, but it was still a rare enough occasion to be of note. He hadn't even made a clever remark about Jace's choice of music so far, which just _had_ to be a new record at three hours into today's trip. The heat outside was stifling, which had irritated him to no end two days ago, but even that left him unruffled today, his barely noticeable smile morphing into an outright grin when they passed something that Jace would have mistaken for a bump in the road if he hadn't seen just how smooth said road was. It had shaken the entire car and that, somehow, was apparently no reason to worry.

"Anything you'd like to share?" Jace wondered at last, reaching for Alec's hand as soon as he moved it away from the steering wheel. Ever since Alec had first used the gesture to calm him down, he'd been addicted to the simplicity of it and it was somehow still thrilling when he responded.

"Remember the wards I told you about?" He got a nod in response. "We just went through, look." Jace narrowed his eyes and there _was_ something there, in the greyish light of the early morning. He could make out the outlines of buildings that stood out in the otherwise foggy scenery, smaller at first and much bigger ones in the background.

" _That_ 's New York?"

"That's it." The relief in Alec's tone was palpable; his grip on Jace's hand ever so present. "You're safe."

It wasn't quite over yet, they both knew it, but Jace couldn't help but smile in return. _Safe_. It wasn't everything and it wasn't forever, but for him, it was enough.


End file.
